Thousands of diabetics face having their driving licences revoked because of a European directive on hypoglycaemic – or low blood sugar – attacks. The ruling states that a type 1 or type 2 diabetic who takes insulin would lose their licence if they have two severe hypo attacks in one year. But the problem lies [...]

Essex cops have slammed reckless 999 callers after noticing a recent surge in nuisance calls – including a drunk man who asked police to collect his takeaway pizza for him. Throughout December 2011 and January 2012, Essex Police noted a sharp rise in the number of nuisance calls received by call handlers at their headquarters [...]

Strathclyde Police has passed a file on the death of a pensioner to the Procurator Fiscal following a Sky News investigation into NHS secrecy. Margaret McKay, 72, collapsed and died at home in Greenock in 2006 but her family was never told that two paramedics were later struck off for the way they treated her. [...]

The College of Paramedics has serious concerns over the terminology used in the recent programme entitled ‘Party Paramedics’. The programme featured the work of the SOS Bus and Team in Colchester over the summer period.  The College of Paramedics recognises the important work and community service that this group of volunteers provide to the local [...]

Meningitis – Know the Symptoms is now available on iTunes.

Measuring blood pressure in both arms should be routine because the difference between left and right arm could indicate underlying health problems, says a study review. The Lancet research found that a large difference could mean an increased risk of vascular disease and death. Although existing guidelines state that blood pressure should be measured in [...]

EEAS will soon have more qualified ambulance paramedics to respond to emergency 999 calls. This summer, 56 ambulance paramedics (SAPs) currently going through their training with the East of England Ambulance Service will become fully qualified and most – 17 – are based in Suffolk, compared with 12 in Essex, nine in Norfolk, nine in [...]

A young woman who assaulted a paramedic at a hospital claims she was too drunk to remember what happened. Jemma Wrighton, 21 of Ashburnham Road, Bedford kicked the paramedic technician repeatedly when she was taken to hospital after police found her intoxicated and lying in the street on Shakespeare Road on December 30. Toby Earnscliffe, [...]

The co-ordinator of Colchester’s SOS Bus was shocked at the way the town was portrayed in the Channel 4 documentary, Party Paramedics. The 60-minute programme, broadcast on Monday, described Colchester as one of Britain’s hardest-drinking towns and contained scenes of fighting and vomiting. Wayne Powell said: “Channel 4 approached us and we gave permission, but [...]

Every incident paramedics attend in a day will be ‘live-tweeted’ during a massive Twitter experiment. Crews from the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) will take part in the ‘tweetathon’ to give people a rare insight into what they do. A member of the trust’s communications team will accompany the crew as an ‘observer’ to tweet [...]